Yuvraj, Zaheer return after intense training in France

Out of favour India cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan have returned home after an intense six-week-long overseas training camp to get their form and fitness in order to regain their spots in the national squad. Yuvraj and Zaheer, who partnered India's successful 2011 World Cup campaign, underwent training at Brive La Gaillarde, France to get back into shape. The focus of the training was on building strength and endurance levels.

They were coached by a well-known high performance physical trainer, Tim Exeter, who has worked with Manchester United star Ryan Giggs and other top rugby players. "Finally 6 weeks of hardcore training has come to an end! I hope in time it's done a world of good to us!," Yuvraj tweeted.

"The 2015 (World Cup) is very much a goal and I am really determined to make it happen. After recovering from cancer I started well. But then I had issues with my form and back during the IPL. I have seen many ups and downs to deal with this. Hopefully, the coming season will turn things around. I am giving my best. That is what I can do. Rest is destiny," Yuvraj told NDTV.

Being seasoned cricketers, Yuvraj and Zaheer are used to the lime-light but by undertaking the rigorous six-week programme in Brive La Gaillarde, a market town south of the centre of France, the pair were cut-off from the public glare and virtually led the life of a 'Shaolin Monk' in an effort to regain complete fitness.

Despite their star status, Yuvraj and Zaheer were quite down to earth and did not have any big-headedness, Exter said, while mentioning that the Media was kept at bay in order to let the cricketers concentrate solely on the training. "Brive is not a party town and the two nightclubs we have are rubbish. So the players would be home after training. I knew they were big stars back in India, but here they were like normal guys and not big headed," Exeter told NDTV.

Exter, who has been used to training high-profile sportsmen since the nineties, said both Yuvraj and Zaheer have taken tremendous strides in terms of improving their fitness and are in very good shape now. "You will be surprised when you will see them. Both Zak and Yuvi are in better shape to do the things they want to achieve," Exter said.

The 48-year-old Briton, who runs the Metasport Athletic Performance Centre with his wife, said Yuvraj and Zaheer are in a position to challenge even young cricketers. "I don't know about the current players in Team India and I am not a cricket coach, but I can only say that age is just a number. Giggs still plays for United at 39 and both Yuvi and Zak are much younger. If they can maintain the follow-up programme, they will compete with anybody in Indian cricket and don't forget that they have loads of talent and experience."

Before the start of the programme, the fitness levels of Yuvraj and Zaheer were "quite down", said Exter. "Their fitness levels were quite down and they were not strong in the central part of the body. It was important to build objectives as both needed to be stronger, quicker and injury resilient. They have played 13 years of non-stop cricket and injuries are expected," he explained.

With Indian selectors backing a young squad for the next World Cup in 2015, both Yuvraj and Zaheer will have to regain their form soon to stake a claim for a national berth. For the duo, a lot would depend on the coming season as the current Indian team, especially the limited overs squad, looks a settled unit given their recent successful campaigns in England, West Indies and Zimbabwe. However, Exter reckons that both Yuvraj and Zaheer are in good shape having lost a lot of weight and should be able to perform to their optimum and regain their spots in the Indian team.